(WSVN) - A South Florida woman did a good deed after finding some expensive jewelry. Now just “Watch What Happens” when she returned them to their rightful owner. 7’s Kevin Ozebek reports.
There are two things in life that Michelle Bucur is passionate about: rescuing homeless animals…
Michelle Bucur: “So right now, I have three fosters. One of them is Hunter. (to Hunter) You’re so sweet. I love you.”
And Teslas.
Michelle Bucur: “I have 10 Teslas.”
In her spare time, Michelle volunteers at Wonder Paws Animal Rescue in Fort Lauderdale.
She also rents out her Star Wars-themed Teslas through a rental service called Turo.
Michelle Bucur: “Which is a peer-to-peer rental platform similar to Airbnb, but instead of for homes, it’s for vehicles.”
During the Christmas holiday, Michelle rented out a Tesla Model Y to a man from Boca Raton. When the rental period ended, she picked up the car and took it straight to a car wash.
Michelle Bucur: “Long story short, a week later, the previous guest contacted me and lets me know that he’s lost some of his belongings, and if we found them. I actually hadn’t seen them.”
The car had already been rented out to a new guest, who told Michelle nothing was in the car.
She then called the car wash … and got some good news.
Michelle Bucur: “They said, ‘Oh yeah, we found some watches on the side of the door, and we shoved them in the glove box.'”
Michelle wanted to keep the watches safe until she could get her car back, so she used the Tesla app on her phone to lock the car’s glove box.
When she finally got hold of the watches, she realized she was in possession of some pretty pricey timepieces.
Michelle Bucur: “They turned out to be super high-end watches worth like over $100,000 combined.”
They definitely were. They were a Rolex and an Audemars Piguet.
The owner told Michelle that even though they are expensive, their sentimental value is much more.
Michelle Bucur: “One had been given by his mom, who was suffering with Alzheimer’s now.”
Michelle says he offered her a finder’s fee for returning the watches. She declined the money, but gave a suggestion:
Michelle Bucur: “‘I do help with the rescue, and if you’re willing to donate, it’s tax deductible. I can give you the link and whatever donation you want to give to us.'”
He made the donation to Wonder Paws Animal Rescue, but the amount was quite a surprise: $10,000!
Paulina Claure, Wonder Paws Rescue: “We were speechless! We couldn’t believe it. We were in shock when we found out.”
Paulina Claure runs Wonder Paws with her mother, Patricia Lara. They just moved into a storefront in Fort Lauderdale and say this generous donation will make a huge impact.
Paulina Claure: “We have tons of medical cases every day and medical bills that are piling up, so it’s really nice to be able to have that money to be able to put towards our bills.”
Michelle’s foster dog, Hunter, just finished a pricey round of treatment for heartworms. She is excited that more rescued animals can now get the same care.
Michelle Bucur: “What comes around, goes around. I think, if we just continue to do good deeds and always try to help without expecting anything in return, eventually somebody comes around.”
For Michelle, that “eventually” is right now. Her good deed shows that timing is everything.
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